Tourism needs attention
It has been almost 14 months now that the tourism trade in Kashmir has witnessed zero activity. Since August 2019 Kashmir valley has been craving to welcome tourist but the footfall has been abysmally low creating a scare among the tourism players.
First it was the centre’s decision to abrogate the article 370 that kept the entire population locked up in homes for months. However, as things improved a bit the arrival of Covid-19 pandemic meant that all the tourism related activity came to a grinding halt.
Since there has been no revival those associated with the tourism trade see dark days ahead. The trade has already recorded loss of jobs to nearly five lakh people who are directly dependent on tourism.
Kashmir witnessed arrival of around 43,000 tourists during the period between August and December last year. The figure was just 19,000 till September this year, with most of the arrivals recorded before March.
After July this year as the government opened the region for tourism activity several tourists visited Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam, the three main destinations in the Valley that are a favourite among tourists. Bookings and inquiries by visitors, especially for the winter months, were also witnessed but these signs cannot be termed as revival.
Kashmir is a preferred destination among the domestic tourists as well since the region witnesses zero crime rate against tourists. The recent report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is a living proof that there is zero crime against the tourists in Kashmir.
But all this is making least impact as the tourist arrivals and the bookings that are coming up have not generated a new hope. Reviving tourism activity in Kashmir can take some time but during this the authorities and the stake holders need to get their act together.
The major stakeholders of tourism industry have to join heads and help in clearing the misconceptions about tourism in Kashmir. However, there are certain issues where the need for inward assessment is also needed.
The tourism departments visibility on the social media and other forms of digital media are needed to be taken up on professional lines and tourist friendly portals and social media platforms need to be created to provide necessary information about all tourist destinations so that tourists can browse the required information at the click of the button.
Another aspect of tourism in Kashmir which has seen little portrayal is the adventure tourism sector. This sector can help in improving the scenario quite fast as lot of adventure loving globe trekkers are willing to explore Kashmir to the hilt.
The tourism players have to pitch in as well and try to further diversify their portfolio and include such attractions in their packages which can enhance the tourist footfall to the region.
One such idea can be exploring the conference tourism for its potential and the Tourism Department and industry players can jointly explore this idea and integrate it with other tourist activities.
However, one needs to ask some tough questions to the government as well. If the state considers tourism as a mainstay of the state’s economy why is it that the state does not have a tourism policy? Even though lots of meetings have taken place between the government and the stake holder’s but so far no final call on this issue has been taken.
KV Network
